When Michael declares his love for a girl, his devoted mother burns with jealousy while his father is shocked to discover that his son's lover is someone he knows only too well.

Jean Cocteau, who wrote Les Parents Terribles, was a prolific playwright, novelist, poet, artist and film-maker who was at the forefront of the Surrealist movement. His other work for the stage includes La Voix Humaine, Le Bel Indifferent, Orphee and La Machine A Ecrire.

Les Parents Terribles is staged as part of Donmar Trafalgar, a new initiative giving recent graduates of the Donmar Warehouse’s Resident Assistant Director (RAD) scheme the chance to stage their own production.